Biomedical subjects

A Carrington

Publications and source records attributed to A Carrington.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Temperature-dependent anisotropy of the penetration depth and coherence length of MgB2.

We report measurements of the temperature-dependent anisotropies (gamma(lambda) and gamma(xi)) of both the London penetration depth lambda and the upper critical field of MgB2. Data for gamma(lambda)=lambda(c)/lambda(a) was obtained from measurements of lambda(a) and lambda(c) on a single crystal sample using a tunnel diode oscillator technique. gamma(xi)=H(perp)c(c2)/H(||c)(c2) was deduced from field-dependent specific heat measurements on the same sample. Gamma(lambda) and gamma(xi) have opposite temperature dependencies, but close to T(c) tend to a common value (gamma(lambda) similar or equal to gamma(xi)=1.75 +/- 0.05). These results are in good agreement with theories accounting for the two-gap nature of MgB2.

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PubMed2003

A coherent three-dimensional Fermi surface in a high-transition-temperature superconductor.

All conventional metals are known to possess a three-dimensional Fermi surface, which is the locus in reciprocal space of the long-lived electronic excitations that govern their electronic properties at low temperatures. These excitations should have well-defined momenta with components in all three dimensions. The high-transition-temperature (high-T(c)) copper oxide superconductors have unusual, highly two-dimensional properties above the superconducting transition. This, coupled with a lack of unambiguous evidence for a three-dimensional Fermi surface, has led to many new and exotic models for the underlying electronic ground state. Here we report the observation of polar angular magnetoresistance oscillations in the overdoped superconductor Tl2Ba2CuO6+delta in high magnetic fields, which firmly establishes the existence of a coherent three-dimensional Fermi surface. Analysis of the oscillations reveals that at certain symmetry points, however, this surface is strictly two-dimensional. This striking form of the Fermi surface topography, long-predicted by electronic band structure calculations, provides a natural explanation for a wide range of anisotropic properties both in the normal and superconducting states. Our data reveal that, despite their extreme electrical anisotropy, the high-T(c) materials at high doping levels can be understood within a framework of conventional three-dimensional metal physics.

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PubMed2003

Determination of the Fermi surface of MgB2 by the de Haas-van Alphen effect.

We report measurements of the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) effect for single crystals of MgB2, in magnetic fields up to 32 T. In contrast to our earlier work, dHvA orbits from all four sheets of the Fermi surface were detected. Our results are in good overall agreement with calculations of the electronic structure and the electron-phonon mass enhancements of the various orbits, but there are some small quantitative discrepancies. In particular, systematic differences in the relative volumes of the Fermi-surface sheets and the magnitudes of the electron-phonon coupling constants could be large enough to affect detailed calculations of T(c) and other superconducting properties.

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PubMed2002

de Haas-van Alphen effect in single crystal MgB2.

We report observations of quantum oscillations in single crystals of the high temperature superconductor MgB2. Three de Haas-van Alphen frequencies are clearly resolved. Comparison with band structure calculations strongly suggests that two of these come from a single warped Fermi surface tube along the c direction, and that the third arises from cylindrical sections of an in-plane honeycomb network. The measured values of the effective mass range from (0.44-0.68)m(e). By comparing these to calculated band masses, we find that the electron-phonon coupling strength lambda is a factor of approximately 3 larger for the c-axis tube orbits than for the in-plane network orbit, in accord with recent microscopic calculations.

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PubMed2002

Exponential temperature dependence of the penetration depth in single crystal MgB2.

The temperature dependence of the London penetration depth, lambda(T), was measured in both single crystal and polycrystalline MgB2 samples by a high-resolution, radio frequency technique. A clear exponential temperature dependence of lambda(T) was observed at low temperature, indicating s-wave pairing. A BCS fit to the lowest temperature data gives an in-plane energy gap Delta of 30+/-2 K (2Delta/T(c) = 1.5+/-0.1), which is significantly smaller than the standard BCS weak coupling value of 3.5. We find that the data are best described by a two-gap model.

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PubMed2001

Evidence for surface Andreev bound states in cuprate superconductors from penetration depth measurements.

Tunneling and theoretical studies have suggested that Andreev bound states form at certain surfaces of unconventional superconductors. Through studies of the temperature and field dependence of the in-plane magnetic penetration depth lambda(ab) at low temperature, we have found strong evidence for the presence of these states in clean single crystal YBCO and BSCCO. Crystals cut to expose (110) surfaces show a strong upturn in lambda(ab) at around 7 K, when the field is oriented along the c axis. In YBCO this upturn is completely suppressed by a field of approximately 0.1 T.

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PubMed2001

A free radical.

This chapter describes my research career, spanning the period from 1955 to 2000. My initial PhD work at the University of Southampton was concerned with the electronic structure and spectra of transition metal complexes and included studies of the electronic spin resonance (ESR) spectra of magnetically dilute single crystals. After a year at the University of Minnesota, I went to Cambridge University and for the next six years studied the ESR spectra of liquid phase organic free radicals. I commenced work on the microwave magnetic resonance (MMR) spectra of gaseous free radicals in 1965, and this work continued until 1975. I moved from Cambridge to Southampton in 1967. In 1975 I turned to the study of gas phase molecular ions, using ion beam methods. In the earlier years of this period I concentrated on simple fundamental species like H(+)2, HD(+), and H(+)3. In the later years until my retirement in 1999, I concentrated on the observation and analysis of microwave spectra involving energy levels lying very close to a dissociation asymptote. DEDICATION This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Harry E. Radford, who died while it was being written. Harry was a quiet and shy man, who often worked alone and never indulged in self-promotion. So far as I know, he was never awarded any medals or prizes, nor elected to any academies or learned societies. Nevertheless he was an experimentalist of the highest originality and quality, a theorist of true intellectual depth, and a remarkable pioneer in many of the techniques of studying free radicals that are now commonplace.

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PubMed1999

Structural abnormalities do not explain the early functional abnormalities in the peripheral nerves of the streptozotocin diabetic rat.

The streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rat, the most commonly employed model of experimental diabetic neuropathy, is characterised by a reduction in nerve conduction velocity, pain threshold and blood flow. Whether or not structural abnormalities underlie these functional abnormalities is unclear. 10 adult male Sprague-Dawley STZ-diabetic rats (diabetes duration 27 d) and 10 age-matched (23 wk) control animals were studied. Motor nerve conduction velocity (m s(-1)) was significantly reduced in diabetic (41.31 +/- 0.8) compared with control (46.15 +/- 1.5) animals (P < 0.001). The concentration of sciatic nerve glucose (P < 0.001), fructose (P < 0.001) and sorbitol (P < 0.001) was elevated, and myoinositol (P < 0.001) was reduced in diabetic compared with control animals. Detailed morphometric studies demonstrated no significant difference in fascicular area, myelinated fibre density, fibre and axon areas as well as unmyelinated fibre density and diameter. Endoneurial capillary density, basement membrane area and endothelial cell profile number did not differ between diabetic and control animals. However, luminal area (P < 0.03) was increased and endothelial cell area (P < 0.08) was decreased in the diabetic rats. We conclude there is no detectable structural basis for the reduction in nerve conduction velocity, pain threshold or blood flow, observed in the streptozotocin diabetic rat.

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PubMed1996

Microwave Spectroscopy at the Dissociation Limit

An ion beam technique has been developed that combines some of the methods of mass spectrometry and molecular spectroscopy and is designed for the study of molecular ions at energy levels lying very close to the lowest dissociation limit. Microwave radiation is used to drive spectroscopic transitions, and electric field dissociation of the weakly bound levels provides a high degree of state selection for sensitive detection of the spectra. The analysis of the spectra requires unconventional approaches to the description of the long-range levels and their spectroscopic study and provides stringent tests of ab initio theories.

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PubMed1996